Feminine? Feminist? FemiNUTS?
This is from Laura Kipnis on Slate:
"Femininity is a system that tries to secure advantages for women, primarily by enhancing their sexual attractiveness to men. It also shores up masculinity through displays of feminine helplessness or deference. But femininity depends on a sense of female inadequacy to perpetuate itself. Completely successful femininity can never be entirely attained, which is precisely why women engage in so much laboring, agonizing, and self-loathing, because whatever you do, there's always that straggly inch-long chin hair or pot belly or just the inexorable march of time. (Even the dewiest ingénue is a Norma Desmond waiting to happen.)"
Here's the whole article, if you want it.
Um, can we talk about this? I mean, femininity is the opposite of masculinity. No more, no less, right? What does it mean to you guys to be feminine? Does femininity exist only in those pinky, frilly, Barbie, boobies consumer stereotypes?
I rarely wear make-up, fix my hair, or wear pretty things; I run and sweat and stink. Yet I think I'm pretty feminine. Am I wrong? And am I wrong (un-feminist)to think of femininity in terms of masculinity? Is that a betrayal to the sisterhood?
posted by Gina @ 2:56 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Yeah, I agree with Gina. I always saw it as the sort of the yin/yang of things - femininity complements masculinity.
I generally feel pretty masculine (probably sucked into the stereotype of feminine by all those tampon and razor commercials, not to mention that I sweat like a pig, no glistening for me) but since having my babies, I feel more feminine. Only women have the power to do what I did and if that doesn't make you appreciate your femininity, I am not sure what could.
Post a Comment
<< Home